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<title>Good Things Fall Apart by ScatteredStarlight (Shaderose)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27385738">Good Things Fall Apart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaderose/pseuds/ScatteredStarlight'>ScatteredStarlight (Shaderose)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canon Compliant, Did I Mention Angst?, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Harley Keener as Iron Lad, Harley Keener becoming Kang the Conqueror, Homophobia, Hurt No Comfort, I am Sad can you tell?, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Not to the comics tho, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Harley Keener/Peter Parker - Freeform, Post-Canon, Religious Guilt, Suicidal Thoughts, Trust Issues, Uhh how do i tag this?, Villain Harley Keener, Young Avengers are only mentioned, iron lad - Freeform, mentioned - Freeform, mostly - Freeform, religious trauma, vent - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:09:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27385738</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaderose/pseuds/ScatteredStarlight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Trust only leads to pain and suffering, you hear that, Harley? Trust no one."</p><p>And at the time, he hadn't understood. He had been coloring in this random paint by numbers coloring sheet, with marks passing through the lines and marker scribbled everywhere. He had thought it was a masterpiece, when in reality it was a mess. He hadn't understood why. He hadn't even known what trust truly was.</p><p>He should've listened.</p><p>~~</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Tell me what you hate about me<br/>Whatever it is, I'm sorry<br/>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<br/>I know I can be dramatic<br/>But everybody said we had it<br/>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<br/>I'm coming to terms with a broken heart<br/>I guess that sometimes good things fall apart</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harley Keener/Peter Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Good Things Fall Apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was original a vent I wrote and posted on tumblr, but I'm weirdly proud of it? And it links into my story that im hopefully going to write eventually, so I'm posting it here too. Enjoy</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harley breathes. Blinks. Stares deep into the glowing purple hue of the suit, laying on the table in front of him. Grips the table harder.</p><p>Trust no one.</p><p>His mother had told him that when he was young, with her hands soapy from washing the dishes, her eyes red rimmed and burning with a fire Harley could only assume was from the pits of Hell, from Satan himself. <em>"Trust only leads to pain and suffering, you hear that, Harley? Trust no one."</em></p><p>And at the time, he hadn't understood. He had been coloring in this random paint by numbers coloring sheet, with marks passing through the lines and marker scribbled everywhere. He had thought it was a masterpiece, when in reality it was a mess. He hadn't understood why. He hadn't even known what trust truly was.</p><p>He should've listened.</p><p>He should've listened when his dad walked out one day, mumbling under his breath burning of alcohol that he was going to get scratchers. When Harley had sat by the door, and stared out the window for minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, waiting for someone who would never return. For someone who never thought twice.</p><p>He should've listened when Tony Stark showed up in his garage, an Iron Man suit in toe, scratched and worn and ruined just like him, and said words and had a burning hatred for a father long gone just like him. When he had swept him off his feet, made him think that maybe they had something, that they were connected. Made him think that he'd come back.</p><p>He should've listened when his friends that he'd had since kindergarten, since childhood found out he was gay by sneaking onto his phone while he wasn't looking and going through his search history at the ripe age of 14 years old. When they had snickered and taunted and teased, when they had thrown and kicked and punched.</p><p>He should've listened when one of them had told their parents, and had their parents tell his mom. When she had glanced at him with such a strong wave of disgust and disapproval that it had shaken Harley to his core, made the first thought of disappearing for good appear into his mind. When she had given him a long speech about the righteousness of God, about his glory and power, about how this wasn't what he wanted, about how this was wrong, about how they had to make him better. When Harley had murmured that it was a mistake, and that he'd never do it again.</p><p>He should've listened when he did do it again, when he had screamed and wailed and cried himself to sleep, begging God to make him better, to cleanse him of this filth, to make him a better man. When God ignored his cries, and left him completely and utterly alone.</p><p>He should've listened, when half of the world disappeared, when he had felt an agony roar all over his body and had faded from existence. When, in the blink of an eye, he had reappeared, but everything he had known was gone. His mother, murdered by a car empty without a driver, the driver having faded just like him. His sister, now his age, living with the same man that had left them years and years and years ago, claiming to have changed, claiming to be different. When the man mocked him behind his back, whenever his sister didn't notice, until he couldn't deal with it anymore and left. When his sister didn't even notice, and never called or texted him again.</p><p>He should've listened when Peter Parker showed up, begging him to listen, to understand that he wasn't a murderer and hadn't done anything wrong while he pointed a loaded gun to his head, on the verge of pulling the trigger for reasons unknown even to him. When he stayed, for months, and had become such a light in harleys life, angelic and soft, harsh yet kind, sharp yet beautiful. He was the sun to Harleys icirus, and he warmed Harley down to the bone until he forgot how much he hated himself, how only days, weeks, months before he had wanted to put the same gun to his own head and pull the trigger. When he had taught Harley to love himself, to feel loved for once in his life, only to leave, claiming with tears pooling in his eyes that he had to save the world. That he was the only one who could. When he stepped out the door, with one last, pitying glance back. The same way Tony had. The same way his father had.</p><p>He should've listened when he had found the files on Tony's glasses, on EDITHs system, listed under the name of The Young Avengers Initiative. Listened to his gut that warned him this was a bad idea, even as he stole a suit and went to find each individual person, claiming himself as Iron Lad even as the lie felt like poison corroding his teeth. When he had finally, finally felt like he had a friend group, a family, a home... only for them to grow closer to each other than they ever did to him. Only for them to start hanging out without him, and growing closer and closer. Only for them to back stab him, to turn their backs on him as soon as they got the chance. To kick him out of the same group he had created. Because he was "reckless". Because he was "too powerful."</p><p>He screams, then, smashing his fist down into the arc reactor, again and again and again, watching it grow from a crack, to a break, to a shatter, and continuing on and on until its dust, until his fingers are purple and blood is dripping onto the ground, until his hand is throbbing and screeching in pain. But he doesn't feel it. Can't feel anything, anymore.</p><p>He should've listened. And now, finally, he will.</p><p>He glances up, sniffles. Wipes away the tears pouring down his cheeks, replacing it with blood.</p><p>He'll show them reckless.</p><p>He'll show them powerful.</p><p>He'll make them, and everyone, regret ever crossing his path.</p><p>With blood slipping between his fingers and seeping from the knives dug deep into his back, Harley breathes.</p><p>And his true destiny begins.</p>
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